"No… something's wrong!"
Suddenly, after less than a minute of running, Xiao Lin came to an abrupt halt.
He frowned slightly. It seemed like there was no need for them to run at all.Or rather—running was the true road to death.
"What's wrong?"
At that moment, Ye Lingling and the Shi brothers also stopped in their tracks and asked.
"I think… we can turn this around and kill them instead!"
The moment Xiao Lin said this, Ye Lingling and the Shi brothers felt he must have gone insane. For a moment, they didn't know what to say.
"I think so too."
This time, it was Donnie who spoke up.
She had long been fed up with those pursuers. Why should they keep running? Why was it that the enemy always got to chase and kill them, while they could only flee?
She had always been the one chasing and killing others before.
Although some emotion lay behind her words, her thinking was the same as Xiao Lin's.She truly believed they could kill them.
"Xiao Lin, what exactly do you mean by that?"
Shi Mo felt that Xiao Lin wouldn't just spout nonsense—there must be logic to it.
"I think we can win. Those four are doomed."
Xiao Lin began to explain:"We have four victories, and they have four defeats."
"First, our soul power is full, while theirs has been heavily consumed from chasing us all this way. Their stamina is also weakened. There's no better chance than this."
When Ye Lingling and the others heard this, they couldn't help but nod.
Then Xiao Lin continued:"Second, Donnie and I already killed one fallen Soul Emperor from the Ice Phosphor Powder base. That man could even fly and had the high-ground advantage. These four don't."
"If we could kill one Soul Emperor, we can kill a second."
On this point, Ye Lingling and the Shi brothers didn't comment much, but Donnie nodded seriously.
Even if all four were Soul Emperors, their individual strength couldn't surpass that fallen one.The only real threat was their teamwork.
"Third, soul skill advantages. Judging by their age, they definitely wouldn't have dared absorb beyond-limit soul rings. For them, a 4,000-year fourth ring would already be excellent. Their fifth ring absolutely wouldn't exceed 10,000 years. Their sixth ring might not even be as good as mine or Donnie's."
This was their advantage in terms of soul skills.
Before Xiao Lin had even finished, Ye Lingling and the brothers were already nodding in agreement.
They knew this very well.
Even their teacher, Qin Ming—the second fastest in history to break through to Soul Emperor—had a fifth ring that wasn't even 10,000 years, and only his sixth exceeded Donnie's.
If even Qin Ming was like that, what more could be said for others?
And among these four enemies, three weren't merely middle-aged—they were outright old men.
Back in their youth, it was perfectly normal if their first soul ring had been only ten years old.
One could just look at the Shrek Academy teachers at Soul Emperor level for reference.
"Leaving aside soul power quality and quantity, you and Donnie have huge advantages, not to mention your martial spirits."
Ye Lingling nodded. Now that Xiao Lin had explained it, she too felt a little confidence in fighting back.
After all, they were geniuses. Their martial spirits were outstanding.
They all believed Xiao Lin could single-handedly face a Soul Emperor. That much was normal.
As for Donnie, they believed she could easily handle even high-level Soul Kings.
Even Shi Mo and Shi Mo themselves believed they could take on low-level Soul Kings without issue.
With their immense defensive ability, even if they couldn't win, they could stall long enough for Xiao Lin to kill one Soul Emperor.
The real question now was whether, with Ye Lingling's healing, the Shi brothers could endure and hold back a Soul Emperor—giving Xiao Lin and Donnie the chance for one-on-one fights.
"And lastly—ambush. They'll never expect us to turn back and strike."
Xiao Lin licked his lips. He knew there were other small advantages, but compared to them, ambush was worth emphasizing.
"With your explosive power, Xiao Lin, you should be able to instantly kill a Soul Emperor in one strike."
When Donnie heard Xiao Lin bring up ambush, she immediately thought it through and said it plainly.
Ye Lingling and the Shi brothers didn't know, but Donnie was well aware—
With an external soul bone's explosive power, not to mention Soul Emperors—even a Soul Sage caught off guard could be instantly killed.
And if the enemy lacked a healer, then just one massive wound could mean death in this Extreme North environment.
"If we do it this way—Xiao Lin strikes first, ambushes and instantly kills one. Then he drags down another, Donnie drags down another, and the three of us stall one…"
Shi Mo began to reason it out, but at the end, his brows furrowed.
"No… that way, among the Soul Emperors left, one of us would still need to defeat our opponent outright, otherwise we won't gain a numbers advantage."
"What if they don't play fair and refuse to duel you one-on-one?"
At this point, Ye Lingling and Shi Mo both nodded in agreement.
This wasn't a school tournament—it was life and death.
The enemy wouldn't be idiots.
Why would they waste time on the Shi brothers, who had overwhelming defense and constant healing?
And this was Soul Emperor-level combat.
The Shi brothers' soul skills could hardly injure them, barely even stall them.
And not only the brothers—even Ye Lingling had her troubles.
Her group-healing skill wouldn't reach Xiao Lin and Donnie once the battlefield split apart.
This wasn't some arena match—it was real battle.
Her soul power wasn't high enough to cover such long distances.
"It's fine. Even if all four surround me, as long as my soul power isn't exhausted, they won't be able to beat me."
At this point, Xiao Lin couldn't afford to keep all his cards hidden.
He revealed that as long as he didn't unleash his most explosive skills, he barely consumed any soul power.
Could the Qiu Long Rod (Flood Dragon Staff) really do that?
The others were stunned when they heard it.
Especially Donnie—she recalled their duel.
No wonder Xiao Lin could still cast a soul power barrier after using so many skills!
"And not only that—I also have this soul bone."
Xiao Lin finally took out the soul bone that had dropped from the fallen Soul Emperor.
Though its age was relatively low and Xiao Lin disdained it normally, right now was life or death.
He certainly wouldn't refuse to absorb a soul bone when it meant survival.
With its power, he might break through one more level, and even unleash a full Martial Soul True Body once.
And besides—it came with its own soul bone skill.
"Xiao Lin, didn't you say you didn't want this one?"
Donnie lowered her eyes and asked, looking at the soul bone in his hand.
She knew Xiao Lin's potential. What if this soul bone limited his future?
"There's no choice. And besides, its skill shouldn't be weak."
Xiao Lin gave a bitter smile. What else could he say? Was he supposed to let his whole team die?
Sure, he could survive alone in the Extreme North, immune to the cold.
But was he someone who would abandon his comrades?
No—someone who abandoned his comrades was worse than garbage.
(End of Chapter)